Monday, May 28, 2018

Donald Trump lies as readily as he breathes. But when he says that he values business relationships above all else, believe him.

The story of Donald Trump, his son-in-laws Jared Kushner, and their support for Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the isolation and assault on Qatar isn’t something that has played out in secret. It was right there, and it was obvious. As the United States delivered a fresh shipment of 6,000 missiles to the Saudis and warships sat off the Qatar coast, Donald Trump made no effort to disguise the fact that he was playing favorites among U.S. allies. Trump and Kushner were partying in Riyadh, Qatar was losing $20 billion a month, and it was all exactly as they planned.

While the discovery that Donald Trump Jr. hosted a soiree that included representatives for UAE and Saudi princes there to offer their assist to the Trump campaign may seem shocking, but it shouldn’t be. After all, these are Trump’s people. These are the people who have multi-million dollar investments in Trump golf courses and Trump hotels. These are the people who Trump sold $50 million apartments. These are the people who had visibility on Trump’s radar.

“Saudi Arabia — and I get along great with all of them. They buy apartments from me. They spend $40 million, $50 million. Am I supposed to dislike them? I like them very much.” READ MORE

It’s against the law for foreigners—individuals or governments—to be involved in U.S. elections. But Mark Mazzetti, Ronen Bergman, and David D. Kirkpatrick at The New York Timeshave ferreted out evidence that an emissary for the crown princes of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates met in Trump Tower in August 2016 with Don Trump Jr. along with an Israeli specialist in social media manipulation and a well-known—some would say notorious—private security contractor. The men were there, the reporters say they have learned, to discuss assisting Donald Trump in gaining the presidency.

It’s unknown whether any plan that emerged from the meeting was implemented. But soon after the election, the emissary paid the social media specialist a large sum, what one associate said was $2 million:

As always, when there is a mass shooting in America, Republicans go out of their way to blame everything except guns. And last week’s mass murder (that left eight students and two teachers dead at a Texas high school) was no exception. But this may be a first: a Republican senator seems to be blaming … the victims? READ MORE